I’M READING AS FAST AS I CAN (DECEMBER 2021 EDITION)
And finally …
The Last Emperox by John Scalzi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the conclusion to John Scalzi’s Interdependency trilogy, in which a thousand-year empire of planets is connected by a cosmological force called “the Flow”, which enables faster-than-light travel and thus interstellar trade. But now the Flow is collapsing one segment at a time, which will result in the demise of the Interdependency and humanity in general, as no colony is capable of surviving on its own.
In this one, emperox Grayland II is still trying to find a way to save the billions of people in the Interdependency - her only hope may lie in Lord Marce (Flow scientist and now her boyfriend) finding a potential solution, and in a secret she discovers in her “memory room” where she can access the memories of all previous emperoxes. Unfortunately, meanwhile, the rich overlords of the houses that control the trade look for ways to save mainly themselves, while Nadashe Nohamapetan - in prison for trying to assassinate Grayland II at least twice - is hoping the third time’s the charm.
Which sounds like a set-up for more of the same, and it kind of is in the sense that it’s more political intrigue and plots galore, as well as not a little sociopolitical commentary on how people generally react to a major crisis, how people with power and money tend to exploit that for their own ends, and how difficult it is for a ruler with a decent heart to do the right thing. But then this is all basically one story arc in three parts, so why not? Despite a gut-punch twist at the end of the second act, it’s an entertaining and reasonably satisfying conclusion to the series.
Riding Torch / Tin Soldier by Joan D. Vinge
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I picked this up mainly for the Spinrad half, but it also presented an opportunity to try Joan D. Vinge for the first time. And since I can’t split these up into two separate entries, that may complicate the star rating. But then it’s not like I’m accountable for these reviews.
Riding The Torch by Norman Spinrad: A 1974 novella in which Earth is long gone and the rest of humanity is riding a fleet of 2,000 torchships in search of another planet to inhabit - a thousand years later, they’re still looking. Most humans live decadent lifestyles, while the voidsuckers who pilot the scoutships hunting for Earth II keep to themselves. Jofe D’Mahl is a famous creator of pretentious but popular sensos (VR films that play in your head). When news that a possible planet has been found upstages the premiere of his new senso about the void, D’Mahl is goaded by one of the voidsuckers to join him on their visit to the new planet to see what the void is really like and make a senso out of it. Short version: he finds out and wishes he hadn’t.
This is typical Spinrad in terms of the free-wheeling hallucinogenic life of D’Mahl’s crowd, the surreal imagery of D’Mahl’s sensos, and the mystical reflections on the infinite universe and man’s place in it. But the story itself is also interesting, and Spinrad describes the overwhelming emptiness of the universe so vividly you can imagine what it would be like to be floating in it all alone. Short but sweet, and one of his better works.
Tin Soldier by Joan D. Vinge: Also from 1974, this is Vinge’s first published work, a novella that started as a space-opera riff on Glass House’s “(Brandy) You’re A Fine Girl”. The backdrop: space travel is common, but only all-female crews are allowed, as men are physiologically unable to cope with extended space travel (except as cargo). At the spaceport on the planet Oro, a bar called Tin Soldier is a regular hangout for spacers, run by a former soldier and current cyborg called Maris. New spacer Brandy enters his bar one night, and a relationship ensues. The twist: every time her ship leaves, her next visit with Maris is three years later for her, but 25 for him.
It’s an interesting premise with some interesting ideas embedded in it, and despite some awkward dialogue, the relationship between Brandy and Maris develops well enough that even though it’s not hard to guess what the climactic plot twist is going to be, it still packs an emotional punch when it arrives.
Also, extra credit for pairing these two stories in one volume - two entirely different styles, but they do complement each other well as SF stories more concerned with humans than technology. If I could separate the star ratings, I’d give 4 to Spinrad and 3 to Vinge, but I’ll give 4 to the package.
[View all my reviews]
May not seem like a lot, but this makes 31 books for 2021 - which, out of a Goodreads challenge of 30 books, ain’t bad.
Vital statistics are here if that sort of thing interests you at all.
Let’s do it again next year, shall we?
Ride boldly ride,
This is dF
This entry was originally posted at https://defrog.dreamwidth.org/1664314.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
The Last Emperox by John Scalzi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the conclusion to John Scalzi’s Interdependency trilogy, in which a thousand-year empire of planets is connected by a cosmological force called “the Flow”, which enables faster-than-light travel and thus interstellar trade. But now the Flow is collapsing one segment at a time, which will result in the demise of the Interdependency and humanity in general, as no colony is capable of surviving on its own.
In this one, emperox Grayland II is still trying to find a way to save the billions of people in the Interdependency - her only hope may lie in Lord Marce (Flow scientist and now her boyfriend) finding a potential solution, and in a secret she discovers in her “memory room” where she can access the memories of all previous emperoxes. Unfortunately, meanwhile, the rich overlords of the houses that control the trade look for ways to save mainly themselves, while Nadashe Nohamapetan - in prison for trying to assassinate Grayland II at least twice - is hoping the third time’s the charm.
Which sounds like a set-up for more of the same, and it kind of is in the sense that it’s more political intrigue and plots galore, as well as not a little sociopolitical commentary on how people generally react to a major crisis, how people with power and money tend to exploit that for their own ends, and how difficult it is for a ruler with a decent heart to do the right thing. But then this is all basically one story arc in three parts, so why not? Despite a gut-punch twist at the end of the second act, it’s an entertaining and reasonably satisfying conclusion to the series.
Riding Torch / Tin Soldier by Joan D. Vinge
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I picked this up mainly for the Spinrad half, but it also presented an opportunity to try Joan D. Vinge for the first time. And since I can’t split these up into two separate entries, that may complicate the star rating. But then it’s not like I’m accountable for these reviews.
Riding The Torch by Norman Spinrad: A 1974 novella in which Earth is long gone and the rest of humanity is riding a fleet of 2,000 torchships in search of another planet to inhabit - a thousand years later, they’re still looking. Most humans live decadent lifestyles, while the voidsuckers who pilot the scoutships hunting for Earth II keep to themselves. Jofe D’Mahl is a famous creator of pretentious but popular sensos (VR films that play in your head). When news that a possible planet has been found upstages the premiere of his new senso about the void, D’Mahl is goaded by one of the voidsuckers to join him on their visit to the new planet to see what the void is really like and make a senso out of it. Short version: he finds out and wishes he hadn’t.
This is typical Spinrad in terms of the free-wheeling hallucinogenic life of D’Mahl’s crowd, the surreal imagery of D’Mahl’s sensos, and the mystical reflections on the infinite universe and man’s place in it. But the story itself is also interesting, and Spinrad describes the overwhelming emptiness of the universe so vividly you can imagine what it would be like to be floating in it all alone. Short but sweet, and one of his better works.
Tin Soldier by Joan D. Vinge: Also from 1974, this is Vinge’s first published work, a novella that started as a space-opera riff on Glass House’s “(Brandy) You’re A Fine Girl”. The backdrop: space travel is common, but only all-female crews are allowed, as men are physiologically unable to cope with extended space travel (except as cargo). At the spaceport on the planet Oro, a bar called Tin Soldier is a regular hangout for spacers, run by a former soldier and current cyborg called Maris. New spacer Brandy enters his bar one night, and a relationship ensues. The twist: every time her ship leaves, her next visit with Maris is three years later for her, but 25 for him.
It’s an interesting premise with some interesting ideas embedded in it, and despite some awkward dialogue, the relationship between Brandy and Maris develops well enough that even though it’s not hard to guess what the climactic plot twist is going to be, it still packs an emotional punch when it arrives.
Also, extra credit for pairing these two stories in one volume - two entirely different styles, but they do complement each other well as SF stories more concerned with humans than technology. If I could separate the star ratings, I’d give 4 to Spinrad and 3 to Vinge, but I’ll give 4 to the package.
[View all my reviews]
May not seem like a lot, but this makes 31 books for 2021 - which, out of a Goodreads challenge of 30 books, ain’t bad.
Vital statistics are here if that sort of thing interests you at all.
Let’s do it again next year, shall we?
Ride boldly ride,
This is dF
This entry was originally posted at https://defrog.dreamwidth.org/1664314.html. Please comment there using OpenID.